A wire binding element is manufactured from a length of deformable material such as wire bent into a series of hairpin shaped prongs on which punched sheets are hung, the machine then closing the generally C shaped binding element into a ring shape, thus bringing the closed ends or points of the prongs close to the open ends or roots. The sections of wire between the roots are referred to as blunts. This wire binding element will hereinafter be referred to as a wire binding element of the kind set forth.
There are several different machines of this type currently available, some of which also include means for punching holes in the sheets prior to binding. However, existing machine designs are generally difficult to operate and may require considerable manual dexterity, particularly in loading the binding element and in removing the bound document from the machine. Such existing machines also include manual means for closing the wire binding element as well as a manually operated adjustment mechanism to enable different sizes of binding element to be used, but such existing manual adjustment mechanisms are vague and time consuming to set up.
There is thus a need for a machine which is simpler to operate and provides a more definite adjustment mechanism allowing straightforward selection of the appropriate setting for the particular size of binding element being used.
It is therefore the aim of the present invention to provide an improved binding machine which overcomes these and other disadvantages of existing machine designs.